How to Combat Fear in This Economy

Fear is the Oldest Emotion Known to Man

As a survivor of abuse, I have dealt with fear most of my life. Most people have dealt with with powerful emotion at some time during their lives. The fear of financial ruin, failure in a relationship or job, fear of sickness or death, or just fear of not being accepted can lead our emotions down a path that makes us believe that certain doom is near.

But we don't have to accept this as our destiny if we understand how to combat and rise above it. One of the greatest spiritual battlegrounds is the ongoing tension between faith and fear. Here's a simple working definition of each of these words:

FAITH: Trusting God as our source of life.

FEAR: Trusting man as our source of life.

Since the garden of Eden, the enemy has used fear of lack of provision, to make us strive for self-sufficiency. The devil convinced Adam and Eve that God wasn't really going to come through and that they should take matters into their own hands.

When I think about how many times I have done that in the past, I am extremely grateful for God's mercy in giving all of us second chances. I realize we can't simply ignore circumstances. We live in intense times. But make no mistake, just like Adam and Eve, if we spend any length of time right now camping around our undesirable circumstances, we will lose heart and put ourselves in a position where we can't trust God.

Despite the negative headlines and reports of financial ruin, we can be confident that God is in control and that He is our ultimate provider. There is hope!

"Thanks be to God, who ALWAYS leads us in triumph." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

This incredible promise from God assures us that He will lead us into great victory when we follow Jesus wherever He goes! So right now we have two basic choices: Allow the fear of our future to ruin us, or (2) jump out of the boat and run after the Lord — even when things don't seem logical.(Remember Peter?)